Following nearly annihilating our world, the families are allies’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new perspective to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp